gfxgfx
 
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
logo
 
gfx gfx
gfx
683275 Posts in 27764 Topics by 4096 Members - Latest Member: MrSunshine August 03, 2025, 08:48:01 AM
*
gfx*HomeHelpSearchCalendarLoginRegistergfx
gfxgfx
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.       « previous next »
Pages: [1] Go Down Print
Author Topic: Gershwin unfinished  (Read 3640 times)
Wirestone
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 6063



View Profile
« on: October 08, 2009, 08:18:39 AM »

Just some quick notes on the Gershwin project.

First off, the fragments have been plundered before. This is not a new thing, as the LA Times suggested. The first person to dip into the Gershwin archive was his brother, Ira.

Ira wrote lyrics to and constructed songs from George's sketches for movies "The Shocking Miss Pilgrim" (1947 -- 10 years after George's death) and "Kiss Me, Stupid" (1964 -- 27 years after). (http://musiced.about.com/od/20thcentury/p/gershwin.htm) That took care of many of the more complete George tunes.

The other Gershwin dipper was orchestrator and arranger Sid Ramin (he worked on Leonard Bernstein's Broadway shows), who was commissioned by the Gershwin estate to create a Rhapsody In Blue style piece from still more fragments. The suite was recorded in 1998 (http://www.amazon.com/Gershwin-Dayful-Dallas-Symphony-Orchestra/dp/B00000070Z/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1255014978&sr=8-2)

So Brian is not wandering into uncharted territory. We shall see what he produces.
« Last Edit: October 08, 2009, 08:21:13 AM by claymcc » Logged
The Heartical Don
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 4761



View Profile
« Reply #1 on: October 08, 2009, 08:43:49 AM »

Interesting, thanks. Was the 'Kiss Me, Stupid' stuff for the songs that 'Dino' (Dean Martin) sang?
Logged

80% Of Success Is Showing Up
Day Tripper
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 52


View Profile
« Reply #2 on: October 08, 2009, 08:51:12 AM »

Hmm, I wonder, has all the good stuff been picked over yet? 

And can Brian use some of the same music sections that these previous workings did?

There may be a reason Gershwin didn't use/finish some of these musical sections - maybe he didn't think they were good enough, and never threw away anything. Even Gershwin may have produced something mediocre, not every swing is a homerun.
Logged
Wirestone
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 6063



View Profile
« Reply #3 on: October 08, 2009, 09:04:02 AM »

Don: "Wilder approached friend Ira Gershwin and asked if he would like to compose the songs written by Barney and Orville. Gershwin suggested he write lyrics to unpublished music by his late brother George, and as a result three new songs by the Gershwins - "Sophia," "I'm a Poached Egg," and "All the Livelong Day" - debuted in the film." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiss_Me,_Stupid)

Day: That's a good question.

I also wonder. GG had more musical training than Brian, and many of his pieces -- especially his classical comps -- are more harmonically, melodically and structurally complex than Brian's. This isn't to say that Brian isn't revolutionary in the context of pop and rock -- he most certainly is. I just hope that if Brian adds music, it's incorporated stylishly and successfully.
« Last Edit: October 08, 2009, 09:28:42 AM by claymcc » Logged
The Heartical Don
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 4761



View Profile
« Reply #4 on: October 08, 2009, 09:16:09 AM »

Cheers for that, Clay.
Logged

80% Of Success Is Showing Up
Rocker
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Online Online

Gender: Male
Posts: 10818


"Too dumb for New York City, too ugly for L.A."


View Profile WWW
« Reply #5 on: October 08, 2009, 12:13:01 PM »

Just some quick notes on the Gershwin project.

First off, the fragments have been plundered before. This is not a new thing, as the LA Times suggested. The first person to dip into the Gershwin archive was his brother, Ira.

Ira wrote lyrics to and constructed songs from George's sketches for movies "The Shocking Miss Pilgrim" (1947 -- 10 years after George's death) and "Kiss Me, Stupid" (1964 -- 27 years after). (http://musiced.about.com/od/20thcentury/p/gershwin.htm) That took care of many of the more complete George tunes.

The other Gershwin dipper was orchestrator and arranger Sid Ramin (he worked on Leonard Bernstein's Broadway shows), who was commissioned by the Gershwin estate to create a Rhapsody In Blue style piece from still more fragments. The suite was recorded in 1998 (http://www.amazon.com/Gershwin-Dayful-Dallas-Symphony-Orchestra/dp/B00000070Z/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1255014978&sr=8-2)

So Brian is not wandering into uncharted territory. We shall see what he produces.

Thanks for the infos !
I guess though that what they are trying to say is that no pop or rockmusician did this. Brian and Gershwin come from a totally different corner...
Logged

a diseased bunch of mo'fos if there ever was one… their beauty is so awesome that listening to them at their best is like being in some vast dream cathedral decorated with a thousand gleaming American pop culture icons.

- Lester Bangs on The Beach Boys


PRO SHOT BEACH BOYS CONCERTS - LIST


To sum it up, they blew it, they blew it consistently, they continue to blow it, it is tragic and this pathological problem caused The Beach Boys' greatest music to be so underrated by the general public.

- Jack Rieley
Mr. Wilson
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 1138


Surfs up around these parts.!


View Profile
« Reply #6 on: October 09, 2009, 09:13:13 AM »

I hope BW + his management know what there doin..Im sittin on fence on both these projects..Im not as excited as everyone else..A cover record of Disney tunes..??..HMMM...Darian works for Disney doesnt he..?..I just dont know..Quite frankly im scared for Brian..This is only the 2nd time in BB BW world i questioned anything..1st time was Mt Vernon Fairway..
Logged
astroray
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 307



View Profile
« Reply #7 on: October 09, 2009, 09:40:07 AM »

I've often wondered what a Gershwin tune would sound like with "Shortin Bread" spliced into the middle.
Logged

Cook pork throughly
The Heartical Don
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 4761



View Profile
« Reply #8 on: October 09, 2009, 10:19:16 AM »

I've often wondered what a Gershwin tune would sound like with "Shortin Bread" spliced into the middle.

 LOL I adore the recurring gags about Shortnin' Bread. I'd like to see him use the long (1 hr plus) version of SB that he once presented to Iggy Pop...
Logged

80% Of Success Is Showing Up
Mr. Wilson
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 1138


Surfs up around these parts.!


View Profile
« Reply #9 on: October 09, 2009, 10:35:45 AM »

i mean there is lots of musicians that have recorded music out of their genre..standards etc..Herbie Hancock ..Willie Nelson..Linda Rondstat  Miles Davis..just off the top of my head...Im posting without reading the other 2 threads about this,,Maybe BW will prove me wrong..I hope so..
Logged
Alex
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 2666



View Profile
« Reply #10 on: October 09, 2009, 11:11:44 AM »

I'll be looking forward to when the rock and roll album comes out after these 2 next records. That is if Brian doesn't get sidetracked from it yet again!!
Logged

"I thought Brian was a perfect gentleman, apart from buttering his head and trying to put it between two slices of bread"  -Tom Petty, after eating with Brian.
grillo
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 725



View Profile
« Reply #11 on: October 09, 2009, 11:57:03 AM »

I'll be looking forward to when the rock and roll album comes out after these 2 next records. That is if Brian doesn't get sidetracked from it yet again!!
Clearly Brian is completely dried up in the songwriting dept. or he wouldn't be announcing two (not one but two!!!) cover albums at the twilight of his career. At some point someone in Brian's camp has to say 'Let's call it a day'. If BW wants to continue writing songs and someone can convince him to record those songs, well that would be great. Instead we have announcements before anything is even recorded about what sort of stuff BW must record if he's gonna fulfill the terms of these contracts. Too bad...
Logged

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
― Richard Buckminster Fuller
The infamous Baldwin Organ
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 348


View Profile
« Reply #12 on: October 09, 2009, 12:42:15 PM »

I'll be looking forward to when the rock and roll album comes out after these 2 next records. That is if Brian doesn't get sidetracked from it yet again!!
Clearly Brian is completely dried up in the songwriting dept. or he wouldn't be announcing two (not one but two!!!) cover albums at the twilight of his career. At some point someone in Brian's camp has to say 'Let's call it a day'. If BW wants to continue writing songs and someone can convince him to record those songs, well that would be great. Instead we have announcements before anything is even recorded about what sort of stuff BW must record if he's gonna fulfill the terms of these contracts. Too bad...

I understand what you're saying, but I'll have to respectfully disagree.  Smiley

People's talents change and grow over time, and even if Brian's output has slowed over the years, I think he has a unique opportunity for arranging and producing this work. In addition, anything to associate Brian with classic American composers will further his legacy.

The Disney covers project may not be as much of an artistic high, but it's hard to argue that all of those songs were poorly written. As opposed to Gershwin being more accessible to older or more musically inclined people, the Disney project may offer him a chance at being in households he otherwise may not have been.
Logged
gfx
Pages: [1] Go Up Print 
gfx
Jump to:  
gfx
Powered by SMF 1.1.21 | SMF © 2015, Simple Machines Page created in 0.241 seconds with 20 queries.
Helios Multi design by Bloc
gfx
Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!